九份和金瓜石的山城舊事總吸引說書人的目光。台灣導演侯孝賢、日本動畫大師宮崎駿都曾取景台灣東北這片早期開發金礦的聚落。相傳早先居住九份的是九戶農家，民生物資取得不易，每次集體採買完皆分九份，故名九份。而後淘金客湧入，發現此區山頭就如南瓜一般 (南瓜，閩南話為金瓜)。悠悠黃金夢見證了日本在台殖民開發的痕跡。這裡，遊客可以同時看到細緻的日本住宅、黃金神社、也可以看到台灣人民草根的山城老街、礦場遺跡。更讓人難忘的是環繞人文風光的東北角山海景觀，山路蜿蜒，芒草處偶見舊時礦口，深不見底。據說此處還有豐富黃金，而開採與否爭論不休，留待有緣人品嘗這裡的歷史和自然。

Storytellers are always attracted to these two mountain towns, Jiufen and Jinguashi. Both Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien and Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki had drawn much of inspiration from these early gold mining villages located in the northeast of Taiwan. It is said that long time ago, before the gold rush, there were only nine families living in Jiufen. To get articles for daily use, they had to cross mountains. Therefore, whenever someone went purchasing, he/she always bought nine pieces of same object, and distributed the goods to neighbors. Since Jiufen literally means "nine pieces" in Mandarin, this is how the area got its name. Afterwards, when the gold rush began in twentieth century, prospectors found that mountains up there look like pumpkins, and started to name this area as "Pumpkin Rock." (Jinguashi in Mandarin pronunciation). The golden history in this area is a story about how Japanese colonized Taiwan. In here, two cultures intertwined. Tourists can see the delicate Japanese building and Jinguashi Shinto Shrine. They also can enjoy Taiwanese old street and industrial relics. Last but not least, tourists will definitely be impressed by the stunning landscape of the North East Coast of Taiwan. As you follow trails winding up the mountains, you can find out the old openings of mining sites behind silver grass. Some of the holes are bottomless. Some people said that rich mine of gold are still being held in the mountains. To mine or not to mine, people who mind mind alike.